Calaveras County Reports Two COVID Deaths, Tuolumne Numbers Decreased

COVID-19 Community Levels in US by County

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Calaveras Public Health updates weekly on Tuesdays. They report two deaths due to Covid; one woman in her 60s and one in her 80s.

There are 47 new lab-confirmed cases from August 3rd to the 9th. The number of cases is down from 105 new lab-confirmed cases among residents last week. Calaveras reports 50 active cases, last week there were 80 active cases. There are four active Covid hospitalizations.

Calaveras is back to the medium (yellow) Community Covid Level with Mariposa. Tuolumne has been at the High Community Level since June 24th. The Community level is determined by the CDC based on higher of the new hospital admissions and inpatient beds metrics, based on the current level of new cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days. According to the CDC covid transmission remains high in nearly all counties in California and throughout the United States. Locally only Mono and Alpine Counties have lower transmission levels.

Tuolumne County Public Health reports 110 new lab-confirmed community cases and 10 Sierra Conservation Center (SCC) inmate cases from Saturday, August 6th to today, Friday, August 12th, for a total of 120 cases. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reports 28 active cases at SCC, last week there were 37 active cases. There are 89 known active community cases down from 127. Positive home tests (rapid/antigen tests) are not counted in the Covid numbers and remain unknown. Lab results come from hospitals or other lab-confirmed testing.

Beginning last week, hospitalizations are being reported as a 14-day daily average based on reported data from the hospital to the California Department of Public Health. The number of hospitalizations over the past 14 days is 6 and represents people admitted to Adventist Sonora regardless of their county of residence.

The newly reported Covid-19 community cases this week include 12 cases age 17 and younger and 44 cases age 60 or older. The new Covid cases demographics: 6 girls and 5 boys age 0 to 11,  2 boys age 12 to 17, 9 women and 4 men age 18 to 29, 7 women and 6 men in their 30s, 7 women and 6 men in their 40s, 8 women and 6 men in their 50s, 15 women and 8 men in their 60s, 6 women and 6 men in their 70s, 3 women and 3 men in their 80s, and 1 woman and 2 men age 90 or older.

The total current case rate, a 14-day average for Tuolumne County decreased to 26.8 from 34 per 100,000 population. A total of 146 more are counted as released from isolation, in all 13,000 have been released from isolation. The 7-day test positivity rate is 14.4% down from 15.1%.

Protect yourself and those around you from COVID-19:

• Get vaccinated; contact your healthcare provider or pharmacy about flu vaccine
• Wear a mask in public, especially indoors
• Stay home when sick!
• Keep your distance and avoid crowds when possible
• Wash hands and clean surfaces frequently

Monkeypox Tuolumne Public health states there are 1,945 probable and confirmed cases in California, from 32 local jurisdictions, an increase of 810 cases this week, (349 last week.) No cases have been identified in Tuolumne County to date. The risk to the general public is considered low at this time. While California is working to increase the number of vaccines available, current availability is extremely limited. Tuolumne County does not have vaccines available at this time. On August 1^st, Governor Newsom declared a State of Emergency to support the monkeypox response statewide as detailed here. For more information, including prevention information about monkeypox, go here.

COVID-19 Testing If you test positive or have been exposed to COVID-19 – Isolation instructions (click here) To make an appointment for testing at the testing site visit: https://lhi.care/covidtesting

The Mother Lode fairgrounds testing site will close at 3:00 PM on Wednesday, August 17^th otherwise testing is open 7 days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. with closures for meal breaks between 11 am to 12 pm and 4 pm to 5 pm. The State testing site at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds launched Test to Treat operations as detailed here.

• At-home test kits can be ordered for free at https://www.covid.gov/tests.
• Families with school-age children may obtain free kits by contacting the Tuolumne County Superintendent of Schools office.
• A limited number of free at-home kits are available at the Public Health Department (note, as a healthcare facility, masks are required at all times in our lobby).
• At-home test kits are also available for purchase at pharmacies.
• Testing sites at other locations near the area can be found by visiting: https://myturn.ca.gov/testing.html

COVID-19 Vaccine children aged 6 months to 5 years are now eligible for COVID vaccination. The Tuolumne Public Health team has added vaccinations for this age group to our clinic schedule beginning next week or families can check with their child’s healthcare provider. Appointments for June 27, June 29, or July 1 at the health department on Cedar Road in Sonora are available at myturn.ca.gov.  For more information click here: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-moderna-and-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccines-children

More information about Covid Vaccine booster shots can be found at: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html. Appointments in Tuolumne and Calaveras can be made through myturn.ca.gov or by calling 833-422-4255 or through local pharmacies, more details are here.